Bowling Ball Surface Texture & Maintenance
By: bowlingball.com
Publish Date: 9/5/15
Every experienced bowler knows the importance of keeping their bowling ball surfaces clean of dirt, oil, and scuff marks to preserve the ball reaction as well as the surface of the coverstock.
It is the texturing of the coverstock which presents the greatest challenges because everyone wants to gain a good ball reaction and continue getting a good reaction after many games have been bowled with a given ball.
To restore your ball to near new and out-of-the-box reaction capabilities after several games of bowling, get to the pro shop and ask to have the coverstock of your ball textured to the same finish as when the ball was new.
You may wish to research the exact finish used by the manufacturer and share that with the pro shop professional. Because there are so many new bowling balls introduced each year in the industry, it is nearly impossible for anyone to know the details how any given bowling balls were finished.
If you cannot or will not invest your time to screen and restore the texture you want to best match with local lane conditions, then use the services of your pro shop routinely to avoid a loss in ball reaction capabilities.
Follow a simple schedule in getting your bowling ball coverstock maintained:
1. Re-polish shiny bowling balls ten games (10) of bowling...scuff (with chosen grit Abralon pads) your dull bowling balls after ten games (10) of bowling...
2. Scuff and re-polish shiny bowling balls after 30 games (30) of bowling...
3. Full resurface is needed (and finger inserts should be replaced) after 60 games (60) to 80 games of bowling...
4. Repeat steps 1-3 for the next interval of 60 - 80 games of bowling...
5. To reduce oil absorption, clean your ball coverstock with a ball cleaner during or after each use.
Some surface preparations will help your ball to read the lane surface earlier and some later. There are surface textures to provide more and less ball hook motion in the mid-lane and on the back-ends of the lane.
Once you learn which surface texture each of your bowling balls requires to give you the ball reactions you seek, get in the habit of restoring these textures on a routine basis.
Don’t be bashful to experiment with various grit pads and with multiple pad procedures so you learn how to specifically prepare your equipment to gain a reliable ball reaction where you mainly bowl your competition.
Coverstock maintenance services are available for a modest fee at most pro shops if you do not want to do the work yourself.
Research the factory finishes of each of your bowling balls so you establish a starting point to restore ball reaction capabilities when it is time to texture your ball coverstocks.
